Pharaoh and the Crate

Well I always joke that our cat Pharaoh thinks he's a dog.  He woofs food like a dog, and in fact likes dog food.  He and Aurora were best friends and now he plays with Monty. But yesterday was the best.  Pharaoh went into Monty's crate to lie down and sleep.  Monty really didn't know what to do.  He looked at him.  walked around the crate and finally went in.  After a short bit he started to nudge Pharaoh to make him leave.  Pharaoh is not a small ca ans wasn't being cooperative.  Monty was finally able to convince the cat to leave his crate.  Although it didn't look like they were actually in agreement on who had dibs on the crate.

Home Alone

Jay's been working in Rhode Island for the past two weeks which meant Monty was home alone during the days.  I've been leaving for work as late as possible and Amy has come home as soon as possible to let him out.  We've been confining him to the Kitchen - less things he can get into and easy pick up if needed.  Well there has been absolutely no accidents and everything has been intact upon return.   One evening, Amy and I wanted to run a quick errand and I forgot to corral Monty.  It was a short run and I figured it may be a good test.  Boy, was it.  I came home and the majority of the house was just fine.  I was very proud of my boy until I went into my bedroom.  He'd torn his bed apart.  There was stuffing everywhere!!! Luckily, he'd gotten the zipper to pop and had pulled the stuffing out.  After picking everything up, I wasn't in the mood to be clever and fix anything.  Monty was a little puzzled when he found his bed missing ...  He curled up in the crate and was fine.  The next day I re-stuffed the bed and fixed the zipper.  Its a little lumpier but Monty doesn't seem to mind.

What color dog do I have?

A week ago we had a very, very wet day.  I let Monty out to run in the morning.  It was pouring. After Amy left for school, I decided to bring in the dog, before getting ready for work. (normally, I let him have as much running as possible and bring him in before i leave.)  Well, to my door came grey and black dog.  He was covered in mud, so he got a shower before I did.  Feeling very happy to again, have a white dog, I went to work.  It was the last night of obedience and I'm usually home just in time to change, grab our stuff and go.  when I got home, Monty was outside and a grey/black dog came when I called.  He was a mess.  So, he had a quick shower number 2, which got me wet so I had to change again before leaving for class.  I will report that he did very well in class.  He's learned heel, sit, stay, down.  Stays are pretty short but we're working on lengthening them.  Heel works most of the time but he's still distracted by the other animals in the world.

Although technically I have a white and orange dog, there are days and times I have a grey and black dog! :)

Bunnies and Coming In

I a very pleased to tell you that the bunnies survived.  We found a sanctuary for them and they will be raised until they can be released back to nature!

I've been down with a cold so Monty has had a real walk in a long time.  We went out this morning and it took awhile but he remembered everything (finally). 

Two major breakthroughs.  Monty came to the back door and asked to come in (a first) and he came in when called (another first).  

Overall, a good day for dog, people and bunnies too!

Bunnies

Today, all of Monty's hunting instincts and breeding came to the fore.  He was outside with Jay. (Jay was filling in the holes he had previously dug).  Monty comes trotting up to Jay and drops something.  It was a tiny baby bunny, maybe 2 weeks old.  Monty rushed off,  Jay moved to another hole.  Monty brought the second baby bunny to him.   Off he went.  When Jay saw him with a third bunny in his mouth, he told him to drop it and leave it.  Monty did, right next to the second bunny.   We now have three very tiny, tiny bunnies that I'm trying to keep warm and hydrated until we can figure out what to do with them. 

I have put a baby blanket and water in with them and am trying to keep them warm and hydrated.  Animal shelters won't/can't take them because they are wild.  We'll call the wildlife people tomorrow and hopefully someone can take care of them.

Good News.... Bad News?

Well, he's done it.  Monty has learned the invisible fenced and earned the right to be loose in the back yard.  Technically, this means I don't have to stand in the pouring rain while he does his duty and he can get more exercise.  Good news. Right?

Well, almost.  For Monty, this means he can run and run, dig and dig and dig and dig and NEVER come in.  He would be all all day and night if we let him!  Of course, he's re-landscaping the backyard and my garden beds.  When he came in this evening, I did NOT have a white dog.  His feathering was pitch black.  He looked more grey than anything else.  A nice shower and he's back to normal.

You would think he'd be tuckered - nope.  Kept running and playing with his toys, oh yes, and asking to go back out.  

Its gonna be fun!

Digging, Training and Barking

Monty is almost trained to the invisible fence.  We've put him on a long lead (so that if he bolts we can grab the lead) and let him loose.  He loves running around the back yard.  He also loves to get under every single bush (we have tons) to dig, dig, dig.  He found baby (I think) chipmunks. He didn't hurt them but I had to pull him away. He was fascinated by the little ones.  We are beginning to have craters in the back yard.  He came in yesterday - it had been raining - an entirely different color.  A nice shower made him white and orange again!

He did very well at puppy class tonight.  He's so good in front of the teacher but on our walks!!!!  Actually, heeling is beginning to be excellent.  He knows sit but won't do it during the walk.  However, his sit/stay in the house is coming along fine.  We're continuing to work on come - especially outside when he's distracted.  All in all he's doing great.

Monty's foster Mom told us he barked to go outside.  For over a month, we never heard him bark to go out.  In fact he's only barked a couple of times - both times, we were outside.  But this week, he's barked twice.  To go out!  I believe its a sign he feels he's home and recalling all of his previous training.  Right now, he's lying on the floor beside me as content and sweet as can be.   We are very lucky to have this boy.

Oh - a note.  Monty came from Nashville, TN.  I emailed his foster mom, she's fine only a little water in the basement, but a neighbor was much less fortunate and its a mess down there.  Let's keep them all in our prayers.